Something To Be Proud Of
by bamfhowell
Summary: Phil moves away when Dan and Phil are younger and they lose touch. Six years later and Dan is starting high school and he meets a new kid named 'Phil'.


Dan Howell wasn't exactly thrilled to be in high school.

At first, Dan thought that it would be lame and that he would hate it with a passion. But, after a couple of weeks, he kind of got used it. He found a couple of friends and everything was pretty much okay. There weren't too many tests and quizzes and he could handle the homework. Dan was always one of those kids that always did what he was told. He always did his homework. If he missed one assignment, his parents would ground him. Dan hated being grounded.

Dan sighed in frustration as he made his way into his high school.

It was a Friday, and Dan hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. He had spent his Thursday playing video games and then he had to stay up all night studying for a science test.

Dan made his way to his locker as soon as he walked into the school. He opened his locker and pulled out the books he would need for his morning classes.

"Hey Dan," Dan looked over and smiled when he saw his friend, PJ Liguori, walk up to him.

PJ had been Dan's best and only friend ever since middle school. They had the same common interests and they even knew all of each other's secrets. It was like they had been best friends all their lives when they had only known each other for three years.

"Hey," Dan greeted. He let out a yawn as he shut his locker.

"Why are you so tired?" PJ asked curiously.

Dan sighed. "I was up all night studying," he told him.

PJ raised his eyebrows as he looked at each other. "Studying for what?" He asked.

Dan looked at him. "Are you being serious?" He asked.

"Oh God. We didn't have any homework did we? Because I didn't do any," PJ said.

"No..." Dan said. He laughed. "The science test we have coming up,"

PJ frowned. "Dan, that test is two days away," he said.

Dan shrugged his shoulders. "Better to be safe than sorry. I can't afford to fail a test," he said.

"Makes sense. So, we start that new project today in history," PJ said, changing the subject.

"Yeah, not looking forward to that either," Dan mumbled.

PJ laughed. "It's a history project... no one is looking forward to it," he said.

Dan and PJ finally walked up the stairs and went to the history classroom. "Did you hear there's a new kid?" Dan asked as he and PJ sat down in their seats.

"Yeah, it was the first thing Chris told me when I walked into school this morning, everybody's talking about it for some reason," PJ said. He rolled his eyes.

"Chris gets easily excited about things," Dan said.

PJ laughed. "That's the only downside to dating him," he mumbled.

Dan laughed and shook his head. He then looked over and saw a rather tall boy with black hair walk into the classroom, a boy who he assumed to be the new kid as he'd never seen him before. The boy walked over to the teacher's desk and started talking to her.

"Dan, what are you staring at?" PJ asked curiously when he saw Dan staring.

Dan blinked a few times and looked over at PJ. "Um, is that the new kid? The one who's talking to the teacher?" Dan asked, nodding towards the boy.

PJ looked over at the boy Dan had nodded towards. "Looks like it. I've never seen him around before so probably. Why?" He asked, looking back at Dan.

"I don't know. I just… I feel like I've seen him before," Dan mumbled

PJ raised his eyebrows. "Uh, Dan? What are you on about?" He asked as he stared at him.

"Maybe not. I don't know what I'm talking about," Dan said.

PJ laughed at him. "You're so weird," he said.

Dan shrugged his shoulders. "You can't help but love me though." He looked up and sat straight when the boy had walked over him and PJ, which is totally not what he was expecting.

"Hi there," PJ greeted as he looked up at him.

"Um, hi. Uh… I'm sorry to interrupt you, but um... the teacher said that we were going to be paired up for this project thing," The boy said to Dan.

"Looks like we're not partners Peej," Dan said as he looked over at PJ.

PJ groaned. "Bloody hell. Why can't Chris be in this class with us?" He whined.

Dan chuckled and looked back up at the boy. "Well, come on. Sit down, you don't have to stand like that. We don't bite. Actually, PJ might. But, I won't. Promise." Dan said.

PJ rolled his eyes and punched Dan on the arm.

"Ow!" Dan whined as he rubbed his arm.

PJ laughed at him. "That's what you get," he hissed playfully.

The boy raised his eyebrows and then he finally sat down next to Dan.

"Oh, by the way... I'm Dan and this is PJ," Dan said, nodding over towards PJ. Dan looked over at the boy. "So, what's your name then?" He asked curiously.

The boy looked up at Dan. "My name's Phil," he told him.

Dan stared at him for a few seconds. "I used to have a best friend named Phil," he said.

"Really? You did?" Phil asked. He blinked a few times.

Dan nodded. "Yeah, but we're not anymore," he mumbled.

"Well, what happened? If you don't mind me asking," Phil said.

Dan sighed. "He moved to a different state or something," he explained. He shrugged his shoulders. "It's been a few years though so I doubt he remembers me."

Phil frowned. "So, what's this project that we're doing?" He asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Oh, she's gonna tell us in class today," Dan said.

"You came at the wrong time Phil," PJ said.

"That's what she said," Dan said with a giggle.

PJ rolled his eyes. "Dan!" He hissed. He punched him on the arm again.

Phil chuckled as he watched the two argue.

"Quit doing that!" Dan hissed back at PJ.

PJ smirked. "Quit being an idiot then," he said.

Dan rolled his eyes. "Do you see? This is what I have to put up with every day," he said to Phil.

Phil smiled. "Must be horrible," he said. He laughed.

"Alright, quite down. Take your seats," The teacher said as she stood up from the desk. "Now, as you all know, I warned that you would have a big project to do before the test you have to take in two weeks. You'll have a week to do this project and you will have a partner. You get to decide what you subject you want but you will need to do a poster board as well." Half the glass groaned. "Your partner is listed up here on the board so come up and check it out."

"Luckily I already know who I'm paired with," Dan said.

"Yeah, don't rub it in. Pray for me," PJ whispered.

Dan laughed as he watched PJ get up and go up to the front.

"Sorry you didn't get to be partner's with PJ," Phil mumbled.

Dan blinked a few times and looked over at him. "Huh?" He asked.

"We can ask the teacher if you want to switch or something," he suggested.

Dan shook his head. "No, it's fine. It's just… we don't really know anyone else yet so that's why we wanted to be partners. I'm sure PJ will be fine," he said.

"Well, if you're sure." Phil said. Dan smiled. He looked over when PJ walked back to his seat.

"So? Who'd you get?" Dan asked curiously.

PJ sighed. "Jack Howard. I'm sure I'll be fine though," he said.

Dan frowned but nodded anyway. He looked back over at Phil. "So, do you want to come over to my house and we'll talk about the project and everything?" He asked.

"Okay, yeah. That sounds good to me. I'll just have to call my mum first and make sure it's okay that I can go over. She'll most likely say yes though," Phil said.

"Okay, sounds like a plan then," Dan said. He smiled.

The school day had passed quickly and before Dan knew it, he was waiting outside the school for Phil. Thankfully Phil's mom said that it was okay for Phil to come over to his house. Dan was quite excited. Dan and Phil had a lot of classes together and they talked a lot. Phil seemed like a real nice guy so Dan wanted to get to know him a little more outside of school.

Dan looked over and smiled as soon as he saw Phil walking out of the school. "Hey, Phil!" Dan yelled as he waved towards him. He bit his lip slightly.

Phil looked up and smiled when he saw Dan. He immediately walked over to him. "Hey. I'm really sorry that I'm late. I was having trouble opening my locker,"

Dan chuckled. "That's alright. I've been there before. It took me a whole week to be able to open my locker," Dan said. He sighed and shook his head.

"Oh great, that's god news for me then," Phil mumbled.

Dan laughed and shook his head. "I'm sure you'll get used to it in no time. Now come on. My house is only 10 minutes away so we can walk," he said as he looked up at Phil.

"Wouldn't you rather ride the bus then walk for 10 minutes?" Phil asked.

"Nah. I don't mind walking. I kind of need the exercise anyways. I spend my days playing video games and browsing the internet for hours. Mum makes me walk anyways... says it's good for my health..." Dan said as they started walking. Dan rolled his eyes.

"That's funny. You sound a lot like someone I used to hang out with," Phil told him.

Dan smiled. "So, how are you liking the school so far?"

10 minutes later; Dan and Phil were finally at Dan's house.

"Ah, finally… here we are. Home sweet home," Dan said.

Phil looked up and blinked a few times when he saw the house.

Dan looked over at Phil and frowned. "Hey, are you okay?" Dan asked nervously.

Phil shook his head and looked over at Dan. "Um, this house looks very familiar actually. I think someone I knew before lived around here in this area," he said.

"Hm. What's their name? Maybe I know 'em," Dan said.

"His name was…" Phil's eyes went wide and he looked over at Dan.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something?" Dan asked.

"What did you say your last name was?" Phil asked nervously.

"Um, my last name is Howell. Why do you ask?" Dan asked curiously. Dan watched as Phil pulled his wallet out of his bag. "What are you…?" Phil quickly opened his wallet and then he showed a picture to Dan. "What am I looking at?" Dan asked as he stared at the picture, which happened to be of a Phil with a boy who looked very similar to Dan.

"Earlier in class you said that you had a best friend named Phil that moved? How long ago did this 'Phil' move?" Phil asked as he stared at Dan with wide eyes.

"Um, like… five years ago? Okay, what's going on?" Dan asked.

"I moved away from this town five years ago. We just came back two days ago," Phil told Dan.

Dan stared at him. "Is-Is this going where I think its going?" He asked.

"This is you," Phil said, pointing at the picture in his wallet. Dan stared at the picture. "We took this picture six years ago when we were on vacation together…" He began to say.

"In Florida. We stayed there for two weeks and it was the best time of my life," Dan finished for him. He took a deep breath and looked up at Phil again. "I-It's really you?" He asked.

Phil smiled. "It's really me," he whispered. "I can't believe this is happening..."

"Oh my God, Phil! I can't believe it's really you! You could have fucking told me you were coming back!" Dan yelled. He pushed Phil playfully. Dan wrapped his arms around Phil and hugged him. Phil smiled and immediately hugged him back, holding onto Dan tightly.

"I would have but I didn't have your number anymore or else I would have called you as soon as we got here," Phil said as they continued to hug. "Plus, I didn't know if you still lived here..." He whispered. They pulled away from the hug a few seconds later. Dan looked up at Phil as his eyes began to water up. Phil frowned when he noticed the difference in Dan's eyes. He quickly shook his head. "Hey, don't cry, Dan. Please don't cry." He begged.

Dan shook his head. "I'm just really happy that you're back," he said.

"No wonder we were getting along so well earlier." Phil said. Dan laughed.

"Come on! We have lots to catch up on!" Dan said excitedly. Phil laughed as Dan grabbed his hand and dragged him up to the house. "Mum! I'm home!" Dan yelled as he and Phil walked into the house. Dan looked up when his mom walked out of the kitchen. She looked up and was surprised when she saw Dan with a friend. "Look who's back!" Dan said as he looked up at Phil.

"Ah, Phil Lester! What a lovely surprise to see you again," Dan's mom said.

Phil smiled. "And the same to you," he replied.

"When did you get back? It's been a while since we've seen you," she said.

"Yeah, it has been a while. We just got back two days ago. We just missed home after being away for six years and we're very happy to be back," Phil explained.

"Well, I'm sure you and Dan will have a lot to catch up on," Dan nodded.

"Yeah but we're also paired together for a history project so um, we better go get started on it today. We've only got a week to get the project done," Dan said.

"Alright. Dinner will be ready in two hours!" Dan grabbed Phil's arm and led him up the stairs.

"This is soweird. I can't believe you're actually back after all these years," Dan said as they walked into his bedroom. He reached over and shut the door. He looked over at Phil and smiled.

"Yeah, but it looks like nothing's changed around here from what I can see," Phil said as he looked around at Dan's room, which had posters covered everywhere on the wall.

Dan smiled innocently. "Yeah. I'm still obsessed with bands,"

Phil laughed as he looked at Dan. "I'm not surprised."

"So, where should we start then?" Dan asked as he sat down. "You were gone for six years."

Phil chuckled and sat down next to Dan. "Oh, you want to talk about that? I actually thought we were going to talk about the history project?" He asked.

"Pfft. That's due in a week. We've got more important things to talk about," Dan said.

Phil raised his eyebrows. "Alright, so what do you want to talk about?" He asked.

"So, where did you go?" Dan asked as he looked up at Phil.

"Florida. It's our favorite place to go so we decided to go there," Phil said.

Dan stared at him with shock. "You left Florida to come back here?" He asked.

Phil laughed. "It sounds crazy... I know. But, you know... I really didn't want to start a new high school in Florida. I wanted to come back here. Mum said it would be okay if we came back," Phil explained. "I love Florida but I missed home much more."

Dan smiled. "Well, we missed you too," he said.

Phil blushed. "Thanks. It's really good to be back home," he whispered.

"Man, I can't believe it's been so long. We've been best friends since we were babies and now six years later we're both 15-years-old. It's weird but kind of amazing," Dan said.

Phil sighed and nodded. "Yeah. It's crazy but… at least we're back together," he said.

Dan smiled. "That's the only thing I really care about."

"So, PJ seems really nice. We talked a bit earlier," Phil said.

Dan nodded. "You're going to love Peej. He loves all the same things we do and he's a total nerd but in a good way. He was my best friend while you were gone."

"He sounds really awesome," Phil said. He looked up at Dan and smiled.

4 years later;

"I can't believe we're actually graduating high school," Dan said as he stared at himself in the mirror. He sighed and shook his head. "This is absolute madness."

"Yeah," Dan looked over and smiled up at his boyfriend.

Phil walked over to him and gently wrapped his arms around Dan.

It was the day of Dan and Phil's high school graduation.

Everything had changed after the day Dan and Phil were reunited. Everything changed but for the good. It was like Phil had never even left for six years. Dan and Phil were the best friends they'd always been. And even after a few weeks of Phil being home, they started dating each other. Although they did get hate from the kids at school at first; they soon became one of those popular couples that everyone loved and adored; as well as Chris and PJ.

"High school went by so fast," Dan said as he held onto Phil.

"Yeah, but now we get to live our life the way we want to," Phil whispered, kissing Dan's neck.

Dan giggled. "Soon we'll be at college and we'll have to deal with school again," he said.

"Yeah, not looking forward to that," Phil said. He let go of Dan.

Dan laughed and rolled his eyes playfully. "Come on, let's get dressed. I promised Chris and PJ that we'd meet up with them before the ceremony thing," he said.

"Alright. We're still taking pictures and everything, right?" He asked.

"Yeah. Mum will be there so she'll be taking lots of pictures," Dan told him.

Phil nodded. "Well, let's get dressed and get this thing over with," he said.

Dan chuckled. "Yeah alright. I need to fix my hair first," he said.

Phil rolled his eyes. "We're gonna be here a while," he said jokingly.

It was around 12 o'clock in the afternoon when Dan and Phil made their way to the school for their graduation. They still had a half an hour left before the graduation actually started. Dan and Phil would have time to spend with their friends before.

"I see Chris and PJ!" Dan said as Dan's mom pulled into the school's parking lot.

"Good luck boys," Dan's mom said as they got out of the car.

"We'll see you later mum! I'll text you when we're out," Dan said. He shut the door. Dan quickly grabbed Phil's hand and then he led the way over to Chris and PJ.

"Hey!" PJ greeted as soon as he saw Dan and Phil.

"Hey!" They immediately gave each other a hug once they were close to each other. "I can't believe it's our last day together as a group," Dan said as they pulled away from the hug.

PJ frowned as he looked at Dan. "Ugh, don't remind me. We really need to make plans together before we all go off to college. Promise?" He asked. He took a deep breath.

"Promise," Dan said. They gave each other another hug.

Phil couldn't help but smile as he watched them.

"It's going to be so weird not seeing you guys every day," Chris said.

"Yeah. I wish we were going to the same college," Dan said. He pouted.

Phil chuckled. "Yeah, why didn't we sign up for the same colleges?" He asked.

"We'll still call each other as much as we can," PJ assured Dan.

"Chris and I promised some others we'd say goodbye before graduation. Talk later?" PJ said.

Dan nodded. "Definitely. We'll celebrate later tonight or something I'm sure," he told him.

PJ smiled. He grabbed Chris's hand and they walked away.

Dan took a deep breath and looked over at Phil. Phil smiled and walked over to him.

"Are you ready for this Dan?" Phil asked quietly.

Dan bit his lip. "I'm a little bit nervous but I'm as ready as I'll ever be," he said.

"We've come a long way," Phil said. He took a deep breath.

Dan smiled and took Phil's hand. "Yeah. We've got something to be proud of," he whispered.

Phil smiled and kissed him. "I love you, Dan." Phil whispered.

Dan kissed him again. "I love you, too. No matter what."


End file.
